With Ole Miss 5-0 after the season’s first month, Lane Kiffin is positioned for his finest hour.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes comments on Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter
During Thursday's press conference, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes commented on Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter | @EdEastonJr
Canadiens Take 14th Place In NHL.com Power Rankings
Just like The Hockey News last week, NHL.com has included the Montreal Canadiens in its first power rankings of the new season. Where did the Habs land in those rankings? Two spots higher than on THN’s rankings, in 14th place.
Journalist Jean-Francois Chaumont writes that the rebuild is now a thing of the past for the Canadiens and that they are ready to make another push for a playoff appearance. For him, the summer’s new arrivals will be key to the Habs' fate this season. Montreal edged both the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers, who finished 15th and 16th, respectively.
Former Montreal Canadiens Forward Placed On Waivers
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Canadiens: Hutson Clan Must Have Taken Notice
Given how well the Canadiens did in the preseason, this is not surprising. Although the Habs did have one game where they came out flat and didn’t put in the appropriate level of effort, they bounced back, and Ivan Demidov has been a standout in every game or scrimmage he has played in.
The young Russian has demonstrated that he can confound opponents with his ability to create space and time for himself through twists and turns. He’s also shown that even if he doesn’t have either, his deceptiveness can allow him to try a pass that very few players would attempt and even fewer would succeed in making. Looking one way, he can send a picture-perfect pass to the other side of the ice without breaking a sweat. His presence on the power play should really have a significant impact on the special team unit's success rate.
As for Zack Bolduc, he has impressed with both his speed and defensive play since the start of camp. He’s the perfect player to deliver the kind of play Martin St-Louis was after; he’s intense at both ends of the ice, and he worked on his defensive play in his rookie season, and it shows.
Noah Dobson made a good impression in his first preseason game, but unfortunately, he had to leave the second game with a minor groin injury. Judging by what we’ve seen at practice since then, though, it’s likely that he will suit up on Saturday for the Canadiens’ last preseason game.
On top of the new arrivals from outside the organization, I feel it’s important to mention the performance of Oliver Kapanen, Owen Beck, and Florian Xhekaj at camp. The three managed to see the Habs camp through the end, and whichever final decision is made by St-Louis, they can all be proud of their performance and how they handled themselves.
Right now, Kapanen appears to be the likely choice to stay with the team for the start of the season, but Beck and Xhekaj won’t be far behind on the call-up list if injuries start to complicate matters for the Habs. Beck has lost out to Kapanen because of the Finn’s better offensive game and readiness. The coach says he played a mature game and has taken a step in the right direction last season. As for Xhekaj, there’s still room to improve his defensive reads, but he has shown that just like his brother, he can bring some grit and sandpaper to the lineup. After the Washington Capitals and Tom Wilson roughed up the Canadiens in the playoffs, it’s a relief for the organization to see that they have a player who could eventually become their version of Wilson in their ranks in the younger Xhekaj.
On the blueline, Adam Engstrom has also shown interesting flashes, and he, too, saw the camp to the end, but the fact that Dobson and Kaiden Guhle dealt with injury helped in that respect. The 21-year-old Swede has developed very well in his first season with the Laval Rocket last year, but he can still use some seasoning and needs a lot of ice time, which he wouldn’t get now with the Canadiens.
For a second camp in a row, David Reinbacher didn’t end camp the way he would have liked since he sustained an injury against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Still, the injury is much less severe than the knee injury he suffered last season, and he’s only been ruled out for four weeks. However, even if he hadn’t been, he’s not ready for the NHL yet. The game was clearly coming a bit too fast for him in exhibition games. He needs to work on making decisions faster with the puck if he is to meet the lofty expectations the Canadiens have in him.
Still, the Canadiens have been impressive enough at camp to find a berth in the NHL’s Super 16, and it’s fully deserved. St-Louis wanted a more intense training camp that would see his men be ready for the season start on October 8, and that’s precisely what he got.
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Blackhawks Flavor Will Be All Over College Hockey In 2025-26
The Chicago Blackhawks have had a heavy presence in college hockey over the last couple of years. They have used first-round picks on college hockey players or young men committed to the NCAA frequently since Kyle Davidson took over.
Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, Artyom Levshunov, Drew Commesso, and Ryan Greene, amongst others, have all played in the college ranks at one point or another.
This year will be no different. There will be a handful of Blackhawks prospects playing across the college hockey landscape, and their scouts will be watching all of the top prospects eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft with a close eye.
At The Hockey News, our Ryan Kennedy ranked the top 100 NCAA players to watch in 2025-26. The Blackhawks and the players they will be scouting are all over the list.
The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) on XWe have one of the most highly anticipated college hockey seasons of all-time coming up!
@THNRyanKennedy’s Top 💯 NCAA Players to Watch: https://t.co/9NNtvLKBiDFor one, forward Gavin McKenna of Penn State and defenseman Keaton Verhoeff of North Dakota are the undrafted players to watch if you're dreaming of drafting in the top two. For the Blackhawks, there is a chance that this is their reality in 2026.
McKenna is the number one-ranked player on this list, and Verhoeff was fifth. Of course, although the latter is projected to be a great NHL player, the former is labeled as a generational talent. Getting their hands on him would be another franchise-altering draft pick for Chicago.
Although the Blackhawks are incredibly strong when it comes to underage defensemen, it is hard to see them passing on Verhoeff if they had the second overall pick. In that instance, you may take the best player available if the gap between two and three is that large. You can address the surplus at the position for help in other spots later.
As far as players already drafted, the Chicago Blackhawks have four players in this top-100 ranking. Those players are:
25. Vaclav Nestrasil, RW, U-Mass
Vaclav Nestrasill will head to U-Mass after being selected in the first round (25th overall) by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2025 NHL Draft. His game as a scoring winger in the USHL should translate to success in Hockey East, where he will prepare to become a contributor in the NHL.
32. Sacha Boisvert, C, Boston University
Sacha Boisvert was one of Chicago's first-round picks (18th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft. He transferred to Boston University after an incredibly strong freshman year at North Dakota. Boisvert is a two-way center who should thrive in his development under BU head coach Jay Pandolfo.
52. Julius Sumpf, C, Providence
Julius Sumpf, a fourth-round (98th overall) pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, is already looking like a solid selection by Kyle Davidson. Sumpf playing for Providence will make this an exciting team to watch. The program keeps adding talented players who want to play for them, which adds to the competitive balance taking place in Hockey East.
83. Adam Gajan, G, Minnesota-Duluth
The Chicago Blackhawks selected Slovakian goaltender Adam Gajan with a second-round (35th overall) pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. He is now entering his second season with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Gajan didn't have a great year in 2024-25, so he is hoping that another year older will allow him to start looking like a highly drafted net-minder.
This year's group of Blackhawks playing NCAA hockey might not be quite as strong as it was in recent seasons, but this is still a great group. All four of these guys will likely be given the opportunity to be Blackhawks one day, and playing well in college is a key to their journey to the top.
The first weekend of the college regular season is coming up. For those looking to check out Gavin McKenna's Penn State debut, it can be seen on the NHL's YouTube or NHL Network. That is only one of many reasons to check out the game at this level.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.
College Football Week 6 Best Bets, Odds, Predictions: Cincinnati vs Iowa St, Notre Dame, Penn State, Georgia!
Vaughn Dalzell breaks down his favorite bets for the College Football Week 6 schedule!
Rick Tocchet Issues Blunt Warning to Struggling Flyers Defenseman
The Philadelphia Flyers may have lost to the New York Islanders in Thursday night's preseason game, but their continued struggles on defense are of much greater concern.
With prospects like Emil Andrae and Helge Grans, at least temporarily, out of the picture, the Flyers have left themselves with Egor Zamula, Adam Ginning, Dennis Gilbert, and Noah Juulsen as their options to comprise the third defense pair.
If head coach Rick Tocchet prefers to keep eight defensemen and the Flyers oblige, then all four players will stick around.
Zamula, 25, is the incumbent in that battle, but his status might not last very long after a series of poor and uninspiring performances in the exhibition games.
On Thursday night, Zamula struggled greatly with unforced turnovers and stumbled to the tune of a 5-1 scoring chance differential and 17-8 shot attempt differential at 5-on-5 on Thursday night - both in favor of the Islanders - according to Natural Stat Trick.
Both Ginning and Zamula are 25 years old and on expiring contracts, but one player is clearly trending up and the other down.
Flyers Working to Turn Nikita Grebenkin Into 'A Force'While it's still early, the Philadelphia Flyers may have found themselves a hidden gem in winger prospect Nikita Grebenkin, who continues to impress in the NHL preseason and training camp.
Tocchet has taken notice of Zamula's struggles, too, and bluntly addressed them after the loss to the Islanders.
"Yeah, he's gotta pick it up," Tocchet plainly assessed. "Yup, definitely."
That's not exactly a ringing endorsement from your head coach with as many as three teammates battling with you for playing time, a place in the lineup, and, potentially, a place on the roster altogether.
Much to the chagrin of Flyers fans, the organization appears to have already made their final decision on Andrae until something changes, and we're left to wonder what a healthy Oliver Bonk could do with this competition had he been available to play.
As for the injured Ethan Samson, I spotted him sporting a brace or cast of sorts on his right hand in the elevator after the game, and he was declared out 6-to-8 weeks by the Flyers last week anyway.
This is all to say that the Flyers have what they have at this point, but if Zamula doesn't tread carefully, Tocchet's patience with him could run out sooner than later.
Buster Posey plans to spend Giants' offseason focused on pitching for 2026
Buster Posey plans to spend Giants' offseason focused on pitching for 2026 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — Buster Posey hit .302 in the big leagues and won a batting title in his first full season as the Giants’ catcher. Through one year as an executive, his batting average might be even higher.
It’ll take years to get a full view of how the Willy Adames contract will work out, but the first season was a strong overall one. For all of the grumbling about Justin Verlander early in the season, that one-year deal ended up being a positive, too. There were misses on some moves, and the Giants certainly paid for their inactivity with certain position groups, but they also felt really good about the in-season moves for Rafael Devers and Dominic Smith.
Thus far, the Posey front office has seemed to make pretty solid decisions. But the work this offseason will be a bit trickier.
It is generally easier to hit on veteran position players because there’s less injury risk and the year-over-year swings aren’t as dramatic, but this offseason, Posey will be focusing on the other half of the game. Asked about the team’s biggest needs on Thursday’s “Giants Talk” podcast, he said the goal is clear.
“I think our focus is going to be on pitching, to try to fortify our starting staff,” Posey said. “The same goes with the bullpen. I believe that pitching and defense wins, so that’s where we’ll probably start looking this offseason when free agency does happen.”
The offseason will start with a focus on the rotation, and as the Giants learned this year, that push should never really end. Posey felt great about the organization’s depth going into his first season, saying often that the strength of the franchise was young pitching. By August, it was clear that was no longer the case.
The Giants traded Kyle Harrison and watched Jordan Hicks and Hayden Birdsong pitch their way out of the rotation. Landen Roupp became a reliable piece but got hurt. Other young options were inconsistent, and by the end of the season, the Giants had multiple TBAs in their rotation every time through.
“You always hear it: You can never have enough pitching. I feel like we came into the year thinking that we had a nice amount of depth, and then by the end it didn’t feel like we had a lot of depth,” Posey said. “It was definitely a learning experience for me to learn that that old adage — you never can have enough pitching — is definitely true.”
Posey, general manager Zack Minasian and the rest of the front office will have multiple avenues to building depth this offseason. If the past calendar year is any indication, the initial lean will be to go big. Posey talked often last October and November about his desire to get a shortstop upgrade, and he went to the top of the market with Adames. When the lineup needed a boost, he traded for Devers.
The free agent pitching market includes Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Framber Valdez and others who have pitched at or near the top of a rotation. There will be the usual array of potential reclamation projects like Walker Buehler, Dustin May and Jon Gray. Other notable names like Shane Bieber and Michael King could be available depending on whether options are picked up this month.
Posey needs two starters, and given that Roupp had an elbow scare during the summer and the Triple-A depth got decimated, he might feel the need to add a third option. When that’s done, he’ll need to rebuild just about an entire bullpen.
Ryan Walker is a good bet to return, although likely not as the closer, and Jose Butto and Spencer Bivens should feel pretty safe, too. Others like Joel Peguero, Tristan Beck and Joey Lucchesi showed flashes. Erik Miller was fully cleared from a health standpoint by the end of September and should be back as the top lefty. But it’s not overstating it to say that the Giants might need about a half-dozen new relief options in camp next spring as they try to sort everything out.
Posey said they first will look internally, and while young starters are never turned into relievers until it’s the last resort, guys like Birdsong, Keaton Winn and Carson Seymour could end up filling out the bullpen. Trevor McDonald could take Roupp’s path, helping out in the bullpen for a year before getting a real shot at the rotation.
The Giants also plan to be active on the minor league free agency front, which is an area where Minasian and assistant GM Jeremy Shelley have had plenty of success over the years. You don’t want to spend big on relievers in free agency, but that’s an option, too.
The Giants currently have 22 pitchers on their 40-man roster, and the vast majority of them are young, under team control and will be back in some role. The oldest of the group, Verlander, is about to hit free agency for a second straight year, and after a huge second half, he will likely be far more appealing to contenders.
Verlander has been coy about what he’s looking for, and he said after his final start that he hasn’t even given it much thought. He admits, though, that the push for 300 wins is still something he’s thinking about, and in that respect, a season filled with poor run support and bullpen collapses might not have left the best taste in his mouth.
Verlander loved the clubhouse, though, and the Giants loved having him as a leader. Posey said they’re “open” to a reunion with Verlander, who likely will be looking for another one-year deal.
“He’s been great. He was a great teammate,” Posey said. “I personally felt like he pitched — even when he was probably receiving a lot of criticism early in the year — I felt like he was still in a place that was putting us in a spot that we could win games.
“He didn’t get a ton of run support and the bullpen gave it up for him a little bit in some of those stretches, but then he really turned it on towards the end of the season. It was pretty remarkable, for a guy that turns 43 in the spring. To be able to go out and compete against guys that some are half his age, it was pretty impressive.”
Sonay Kartal’s breakthrough China Open run halted by stellar Noskova
Briton overwhelmed 6-3, 6-4 by the Czech world No 27
Kartal leapfrogs Boulter as GB No 2 after tournament
Sonay Kartal’s impressive breakthrough run in Beijing came to a difficult end as she was overpowered by Linda Noskova, who eviscerated every last ball and played a stellar match to reach the semi-final of the China Open with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win.
The defeat ends the most significant tournament of Kartal’s career to date as the 23-year-old Briton showed, with a series of excellent performances in one of the biggest events in the world, that she has the game to trouble the best players in the world, reaching her first WTA 1000 quarter-final with a superb three-set win over Mirra Andreeva, ranked No 5, for her first victory against a top-10 player.
Continue reading...The pundits' verdict after Rangers lose to Sturm
Former Scotland forward James McFadden on Sportsound
First half was disappointing, Rangers were the architects of their own downfall going behind.
They were far better in the second half, but why do you wait until it looks like the game is gone to make changes? The players look like the shackles are off when they change formation.
They look a danger to themselves at times when they have the ball. The goals the concede, and have conceded, have been really poor. Every goal is avoidable. It's frustrating to watch.
Ex-Rangers striker Ally McCoist on TNT Sports
There has to be a serious level of criticism at Rangers defensively - as players and as a team.
Former Hearts manager Robbie Neilson on BBC Scottish football podcast
Things start to spiral and we're getting to that point now where the negativity towards the manager is definitely having an effect on the players. There's no doubt about that.
The only way to turn that is to win football matches. I don't know if they've got the squad to win six, seven, eight in a row, but that's the only way they'll turn it.
It looks like Russell Martin has taken as much pressure as he can on himself to try and get it away from the players.
But I think at the moment it's coming back on the players as well now because it's got quite an extreme stage.
Ex-Rangers full-back Alan Hutton on TNT Sports
Rangers can't continue this way, if I'm honest. This is unheard of for a Rangers team. It's the manner of the way they are conceding. And when they go forward, the cohesion isn't quite there.
Seth Curry's unique NBA journey leads back to Warriors reunion with Steph
Seth Curry's unique NBA journey leads back to Warriors reunion with Steph originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Multiple players have tried their hand at joining the Splash Brothers lore with the Warriors in one way or another.
The combination of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson can never be replicated. There never has been, and never will be, a more skilled shooting backcourt in the NBA. But the Warriors now have a literal Splash Brother on their roster, Curry’s younger brother Seth.
“It’s definitely special,” Curry said Thursday at his introductory press conference. “It feels like a good time in both of our careers for me to be here.”
Curry, 35, signed an Exhibit 9 contract with the Warriors on Wednesday that will allow him to be with the team throughout training camp and the preseason. They then will have to waive him to remain below the second apron. The first day the Warriors can sign a 15th player – Curry – and stay under the second apron is Nov. 11.
Despite the contract oddities and having to wait the entire offseason, Curry knew this was the right time for him to join his older brother in a Golden State jersey. Curry admitted coach Steve Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy continued to ask him the past few offseasons if he ever would be open to the idea after years of him not wanting to.
Going into his 12th year in the NBA and his 10th full season, now is when teaming up together was best for both.
“Just feels right for both of our careers,” he said. “For me coming from Charlotte the last couple of years, for me to have the opportunity to come back to a winning organization, everybody pushing on the same path and trying to win a championship is good for me.”
Curry went undrafted in 2013 and signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Warriors but never played a regular season game for Golden State. He did, however, play 38 games for their D-League (now called the G League) affiliate in Santa Cruz, averaging 19.7 points and 5.8 assists per game. It took Curry years to establish himself as a pro as his older brother jumped to superstardom.
Ironically, the same season Steph won his back-to-back MVP unanimously in 2015-16, Seth got his first big break down the road. Curry played 44 games for the Sacramento Kings that season and showed signs of a player bound for a long NBA career. He then played 70 games the next season with the Dallas Mavericks, starting 42, and averaged 12.8 points while shooting 42.5 percent from 3-point range.
Curry missed the entire 2017-18 season because of a stress fracture in his lower left leg. He returned as a key bench contributor for the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2018-19 season. In a three-year span from the 2019-20 season through the 2021-22 season, Curry averaged 28.9 minutes, 13.3 points and shot 44 percent on threes. He has since become a 3-point specialist off the bench, and a very good one at that.
He led the entire NBA with a 45.6 3-point percentage last season, and his 43.2 career 3-point percentage is second among active players – one spot ahead of Steph. The Currys are the First Family Of Shooting A Basketball. But Seth believes other parts of his game continue to be underrated.
“I feel like an all-around offensive player,” Curry said. “I mean, look at my numbers. I can obviously shoot the ball well from three, but I can score off the mid-range. I can do enough off the dribble where you can’t just run me off the line. It’s kind of stuff I had to develop over my career to be impactful in a lot of different situations.
“And then on defense, I’m in the right spots and compete. I played for [Warriors assistant coach Terry Stotts] for that one year in Portland and he had me out there in a lot of situations, a lot of big-time moments. There are a lot of underrated parts of my game that people don’t realize. They might not have watched me, especially the last couple years in Charlotte, but they’ll be on display.”
Seth has walked out of the shadows of being Steph’s little brother. But that still always will technically be what he is, and the elder Curry had to remind him somehow. Jokingly, Seth said he tried to buy Curry’s famous No. 30 jersey off him and his request was quickly denied, which is why he’ll be wearing No. 31 on the Warriors.
“He said he didn’t need the money,” Seth responded. “I don’t think the NBA would have liked that either.”
The thought of playing together in the NBA was always Steph’s dream more than Seth’s. The two grew up together in NBA locker rooms and could spend hours together shooting the ball. Parents had to have thought ‘If only, if only.’
Paving your own path, as Seth has, is commendable. He’s his own person and basketball player, as is Steph. They’re now part of an exclusive list of brothers to play together in the NBA and will do their all to downplay any memes and play on words, keeping the focus on basketball first.
The obvious also can’t be ignored. The timing is right, and the coolness factor of two Curry’s on one team is undeniable. The moment both are raining threes in the same game is a storm the Warriors and the entire Bay Area are ready to embrace.
Why Steve Kerr believes Warriors' Steph Curry can benefit from NBA rule change
Why Steve Kerr believes Warriors' Steph Curry can benefit from NBA rule change originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The greatest shooter in NBA history might be getting a bit of help from the league.
A new rule change that will go into effect this season should keep Steph Curry – and other 3-point shooters – from getting intentionally hit in their arms, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr made note of the changes on Thursday.
“The biggest one is the high-five rule, which the [NBA] Coaches Association was part of in collaboration with the league,” Kerr told reporters. “The last few years, we’ve really let defenders get away with fouling jump shooters on the hand. We call everything down low, but guys have been allowed to foul jump shooters and so they’re tweaking the rules on that.
“They’re not allowing as much contact. The shooter is now able to follow through. The reason for the high-five rule is, the guy’s shooting, they literally would get high-fived and that’s now going to be a foul.”
But that’s not the only tweak that’s being made by the league, as Kerr notes.
“The other one where you release the shot and the guy comes in and just hammers you on the wrist a full second after,” Kerr said. “That was a play that the players were just taking advantage of because of the rules and we’re not going to allow that anymore, which is great because I think there was a risk of players getting hurt, so protecting shooters seems to be the main theme.”
While Curry has proven that he doesn’t need help from officials while earning the NBA 3-pointers made record, Kerr believes the change will definitely give him an advantage he hasn’t had for years.
“I think it’ll help Steph every game because of the relaxed rules on that the last few years, everybody’s out there just trying to hammer him on the arm,” Kerr said. “It’s a good change for him, it’s a good change for everybody, I think it’s just, that’s a foul. To me it should have been called for the last few years, it just got away from everybody and I’m glad that the league addressed it.”
When the season starts, Curry and other shooters will not only be more safe when attempting jumpers, but they could reap the benefits of these new rule changes performance-wise, as well.
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Sports quiz of the week: Ryder Cup, World Cup winners and Harry Kane
Have you been following the big – and small – stories in football, golf, rugby union, cricket and rugby league?
Continue reading...Sporting sisterhood struggles to overcome nationalistic diktats as India face Pakistan | Emma John
If the two captains fail to shake hands at the Women’s Cricket World Cup it will deliver another blow to ping-pong diplomacy
It is mere years that women in the subcontinent have been taken seriously as cricketers. For generations, they faced scorn, disapproval, ostracism – even the threat of violence – to pursue their passion. Now India is hosting a World Cup in which the prize fund is $13.8m (£10.3m) and the home nation’s players will become national treasures if they secure their first tournament victory.
It would, then, be a travesty if this weekend’s talk focused on their male counterparts. And yet, when India face Pakistan on Sunday, comparison is unavoidable. And not because the home side are highly favoured to triumph, but because they are not expected to shake hands with their opposition. Handshakegate, if we must call it that, will have a fourth instalment.
Continue reading...NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games 2025-10-06 15:54:03
Last Minute NHL Fantasy Draft Strategies for the Upcoming Season
Last Minute Draft Strategies for the Upcoming NHL Season
The NHL season begins Tuesday, and while some of you have already had your drafts, this weekend will be the busiest time for poolies.
Maximizing Value with Elite Goaltenders and Blueliners
There are many different strategies for drafting a team. I enjoy going after positions of weakness first. There are not many goaltenders whom you can rely on year after year. Connor Hellebuyck, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin, Jake Oettinger and Ilya Sorokin come to mind as the best netminders -- I have discounted Sergei Bobrovsky due to his age and the amount of hockey he has played over the last three seasons -- I would wait on goaltenders after these five. One big thing to remember when drafting this season is that there will be an Olympic break. Since the Russians will not be in Italy, I would upgrade all Russian players -- especially Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin and Alex Ovechkin -- as they will be well rested while the remainder of the NHL's best will be tired coming off the gruelling two-week Olympic Games. That also goes for everyone who does not make their respective National Team, as they get a big break in the action.
I also would take defensemen early, as there are not a bunch of high-scoring blueliners. I would tap Cale Makar as a top-five pick this season, taking Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Kucherov in front of him. There are some forwards who will outscore Makar, but by not a big enough margin to make them worth taking, as there are always plenty of forwards to choose from, especially in shallower pools.
There were 49 players who had at least 70 points in 2024-25, including just three defensemen, Makar, Zach Werenski and Quinn Hughes. That's the importance of selecting blueliners. To make the point even greater, there were only five defensemen who had from 60 to 69 points. Rasmus Dahlin, Evan Bouchard, Victor Hedman, Josh Morrissey and Adam Fox. That's eight of the top 85 scorers.
If you play with forwards, rather than specific centers, left wingers and right wingers, I would load up with centers as they definitely get more points than wingers on average. If you play with those positions, I would wait on your centers, focusing on wingers, as there will be plenty of good centers available in the eighth round and later. I scored Jack Hughes three seasons ago in the eighth round, and he finished with 99 points. I also selected Nico Hischier in the same draft in the 17th and final round, and he managed 31 goals and 80 points in 81 games after missing Opening Night.
In most pools, there are between 160 and 225 players taken, including 20-28 goalies, 48-84 defensemen and 92-112 forwards. As mentioned earlier, 77 forwards managed to score at least 60 points. If you want players who scored at least 45 points in 2024-25, then add another 81 players to the list, including 10 defensemen. Of the top 166 players, you have 148 forwards (more than enough to fill all rosters and then some) and only 18 defensemen. While defensemen can help out in other categories, you can definitely see the importance of taking blueliners early and often while waiting on forwards.
Leveraging the Olympic Break for Fantasy Hockey Success
As previously mentioned, it's an interesting schedule this season due to the Olympics, as there is almost a three-week break in the schedule, from Feb. 6-26. There are four teams that play five games in a week. The Rangers play five games from Dec. 15-21, Carolina plays five contests from Dec. 29-Jan. 4, Edmonton has five games from Jan. 12-18 and most importantly, Pittsburgh plays five times from Mar. 30-Apr. 5. The Penguins' stretch will be during the head-to-head playoffs, and that will give a huge edge to a team. Don't forget to plan ahead, as trying to pick off some of these players may be difficult the Sunday before their big week.
If you are playing dynasty leagues, don't forget about players who are currently hurt, but may help you out long-term, either later in this season or next year. Aleksander Barkov (knee surgery) definitely comes to mind as he is likely out for all of the regular season in 2025-26, but will be worth his weight in gold next year, or perhaps even this season as trade bait if you are trying to improve your chances of winning this season. Others to consider are Matthew Tkachuk (groin surgery), who is expected to be out until at least Christmas and Zach Hyman (broken wrist), who is expected to return at the beginning of November.
Navigating the NHL Schedule for Daily Transaction Pools
An important part of playing in daily transaction leagues is playing the schedule. For the most part, the NHL is a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday league with the majority of scheduled games slated for those dates. Edmonton and Montreal lead in those dates with 60 of their 82 games played on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Boston plays 58 times, while Ottawa is at 57 and Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay are at 55. At the other end of the schedule (and these are players on teams you should target near the end of the draft) are Anaheim at only 40, Utah at 41, Chicago with 42 and the Rangers and St. Louis at 45 games.
Artemi Panarin and Nick Suzuki each had 89 points last season. Panarin is a more valuable play this season as he plays 15 more games than Suzuki on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, less popular days on the NHL schedule. It's a lot easier to find players to play on the more common days; therefore, in daily transaction pools, Panarin should be selected a full round earlier than Suzuki. Other examples are Utah's Mikhail Sergachev ahead of the Penguins' Erik Karlsson, the Ducks' Jackson LaCombe ahead of Morgan Rielly of Toronto, and later in the draft, Brayden Schenn of the Blues ahead of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (unless you think Nugent-Hopkins is due for a huge comeback).
Don't be afraid to be the leader of the pack, rather than a follower. When there is a run on a position, be at the start of the run, not at the bottom. This way – using goaltenders as an example – when there is a slew of goaltenders taken in the middle rounds, it's better to take a Sergei Bobrovsky, rather than take a chance on Buffalo's Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Finally, here are some players I like near the end of drafts (around 180th and later) in alphabetical order: Ivan Barbashev (Vegas), Anthony Beauvillier (Washington), Zachary Bolduc (Montreal), Philip Broberg (St. Louis), Brandt Clarke (Los Angeles), Arseni Gritsyuk (New Jersey), Boone Jenner (Columbus), Anton Lundell (Florida), Matias Maccelli (Toronto), JJ Peterka (Utah), Sam Rinzel (Chicago), Jimmy Snuggerud (St. Louis), Logan Stankoven (Carolina) Danila Yurov (Minnesota) and Trevor Zegras (Philadelphia).